Green Common - Wan Chai

Their success is testament to what can be achieved with cunning marketing. When I read though that for example the horse racing industry is among their corporate partners, they just make me feel uneasy.



Updated from previous review on 2016-07-13

been there a few times since it opened, but before today hardly bought anything more than a box of tofu.

it's a spacious, comfortable place where one can browse in comfort. there's also a water container for customers to top up their water (first time i've seen it in hk).

on one occasion, i noticed that one of their items (a small bottle of truffle cream) contained parmigiano reggiano cheese, which, if genuine, necessitates the use of calf rennet. i emailed them about it on a saturday and within the day was told that they had been informed by their supplier that it was vegetarian, but that the item would be removed until its vegetarian status was confirmed. when i went back recently, i was glad to see that it had indeed been taken off the shelf.

while they introduce local products such as happycow dairy-free ice cream, raiz the bar chocolate and foodcraft salads/yoghurts, prices are on the high end (eg mary's gone crackers is about hkd10 more than that from just greens, which is just a few minutes' walk away). quite a few products contain e numbers, if that bothers you, so read the labels before buying.

* probably not related to the shop, but the shitake bolognese zoodles by foodcraft looked really dry and unappetising but when mixed with the sauce was surprisingly delicious; i would definitely eat it again. the dressing for the kale spicy spirulina ranch salad (also by foodcraft) was a tad too thick and dry though.

if anyone from the shop is reading, it's hard to view the price labels on the lower refrigerated shelves without resorting to an unglamorous squatting position.